1. Field
The present disclosure generally relates to food processing, and more particularly to electroporation of food.
2. General Background
Various methods have long been used to enhance foods to provide a more enjoyable, and sometimes safer, eating experience for humans or animals. Food enhancement may include a variety of modifications of a food's properties such as, for example, the enhancement or maintenance of flavor, texture, moisture, color, and/or appearance. Examples of such methods include brining, the use of spice and flavor rubs, marinating, tenderizing, and the injection of flavorings and chemicals.
Traditional brining of meat products is known to improve meat flavor and provides moisture control, but has certain drawbacks. For example, brining of large pieces of meat is time consuming. Also, brining an entire turkey can require twelve hours. Large amounts of salt and spices are also required to provide even a modicum of flavoring to the meat, often resulting in waste of the salt and spices. Finally, consumers on a sodium restricted diet typically cannot consume a brined food.
Spice and flavor rubs are used to provide flavor enhancement to foods. However, rubs only provide flavor to the surface of the food rather than a more desired uniform distribution of flavor through the entire food. Rubs also are not effective in controlling the moisture content of the food. Similarly, marinating primarily provides flavor to the surface of the food, and is further a slow and typically messy process.
For meat products, tenderizing tough meat can be accomplished with aging, the use of chemical meat tenderizers such as papan, or by mechanical means. These approaches have drawbacks. For example, aging meat is time consuming, and in the case of beef as an example it can take several weeks to fully age. Other drawbacks include, moisture loss, the increased chance of developing foul flavors from oxidation of unsaturated fats, and the increased chance of contamination from microorganisms, mold growth, and spoiling. A mechanical method of tenderizing meat breaks up the connective tissue to form a more tender piece of meat, but this method cannot provide moisture control or flavor enhancement.
Chemical meat tenderizers, such as papan, function similarly to the natural enzymes in meat, which help soften connective tissue as the meat is aged. However, chemical tenderizers tend to be inactive at refrigerator temperatures, only somewhat effective at room temperature, and inactive above 140° F. Furthermore, chemical tenderizers tend to work on the surface of the meat only, leaving the interior of the meat tough. Overexposure of the meat to papan leads to the breakdown of the connective tissue matrix of the meat and of the protein imbedded in the cell membrane of the cells forming the meat. The proteins are broken down, which undesirably allows additional water to escape through the cell membrane of the meat's cells during cooking, resulting in a drier meat.
Lastly, injection of flavorings and chemicals into a food using a syringe also has drawbacks. For example, for a food such as meat, injection is ineffective in providing a uniform distribution of flavors, and undesirably depends on non-natural chemicals to manipulate properties of the meat.
Accordingly, it is desirable to have an improved method and apparatus for enhancing the properties of food.
The exemplification set out herein illustrates particular embodiments, and such exemplification is not intended to be construed as limiting in any manner.